Life Beyond Our Planet

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Life Beyond Our Planet

Content on this page supports the concepts related to astrobiology and living systems at all levels of organization. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in our solar system. These resources include material about the potential for evidence of microbial life on other planets.

Life Science Themed Units and Camps (Grades 4-6)
NASA's Summer of Innovation Project provides theme-based units: The Body, Food, Life Out There, Plants, and Survival. Professional development training modules are available for educators on the website.

Life Into Space Book (All Ages)
Read about the history of space life sciences missions, payloads and experiments conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center and Kennedy Space Center between 1965 and 2003.

From Earth to the Solar System
FETTSS is a collection of high-resolution images showcasing the beauty and excitement of planetary exploration -- our journey to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system, and our search for life elsewhere.

What It Takes to Live Away From Earth
This educational video highlights some of the challenges faced by humans on space exploration missions and the technologies needed for living away from Earth. The video is intended for students in grades 3-6 and anyone curious about space exploration.

Launchpad: Astrobiology
Are we alone in the universe? Where do we come from? Join NASA in the search for answers to these and many more questions about life in our solar system. Learn how astrobiologists use what we know about Earth to investigate Titan, Europa and other far-off worlds.

Next Red Planet Rover: Mars Science Laboratory
Did Mars once have an environment capable of supporting life? NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, the rover Curiosity, will further unravel that mystery. Curiosity carries a whole laboratory with it wherever it goes and is much bigger than any rover sent before -- about the size of a car.

Our World: Life on Other Worlds
Explore the possibility of finding life on other planets. See how NASA's search for water on Mars proved successful with the Phoenix Lander. Find out about extremophiles and what makes a habitable zone for life as we know it.

NASA Now Minute: Extremophiles
NASA research scientists Dr. Margarita Marinova and Dr. Alfonso Davila discuss how scientists study microbes that live in Earth's extreme environments to better understand places where life might exist in our solar system, such as Mars.

Imagine Mars Project
What would life be like if Mars were home? Use these K-12 lesson plans and resources to explore the local community here on Earth. Then decide which arts, scientific and cultural elements will be important on Mars.

ExoQuest®
Is ET out there? Can he really phone home? Whether or not extraterrestrial life exists is a question of immense popular interest. But it's not just a fun topic for moviegoers. It's a scientific issue of profound importance. This CD-ROM may be purchased from the Center for Educational Technologies.

Beyond Our Planet
NASA studies both Earth and other planets. What is learned from Earth's oceans can help us make sense of clues to the watery pasts of other planets.

It All Started With a Rock
The famous rock from Mars, ALH84001, was ejected into space by an asteroid impact on Mars long ago. It was collected by a team of scientists in 1984 in Antarctica, and the debate is ongoing about whether it contains evidence of life on Mars.